I don't hate him but I think he needs to get off his high horse before he completely destroys his legacy. The Raiders will be a joke until he sells, or at least until he hires a GM to do the things a GM is supposed to do, because Al is not cut out to manage a team like that. I don't know if its age, health, or just lack of adaptation, but Al cannot do it all like he did in the past. For his sake as well as that of the entire franchise, he needs to do the right thing.

Years 81, 82, 83 and beyond mean a lot, too. Everyone wants to know how long Davis will rule over the Raiders, because what he has done lately isn't cause for celebration.

That's too bad. The Raiders' past six seasons have been so bad and miserable, their carnage overshadows the legacy that Davis has committed nearly 50 years of his fascinating life to building.

So, um, happy birthday?

"It'll be happy when we win," Davis replied when Greg Papa offered him birthday wishes during a recent interview, of which only a seven-minute snippet (out of a two-hour chat) aired Thursday night on Comcast SportsNet.

Davis did, however, happily stroll down memory lane in that segment, shedding light on his mysterious childhood in Brooklyn, from age 5 to 18.

He dropped no bombshells. He shared tales, name-dropped and casually boasted. Refreshingly, he did not mock anyone, a common theme in his recent speeches that accompany a near-annual coaching change.

This was Al Davis, The Early Years. This was an important history lesson. But today's NFL cares less about history, more about current Super Bowl odds.

He, for better or worse, is still in charge of the Raiders' Super Bowl designs. He thrives on that command, and it traces to his youth in Brooklyn's diverse neighborhood.

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recalled Lincoln Terrace Park, not only playing there but surviving and eventually ruling its rough turf. He relayed that story to Mike Tyson in 1989 when they delivered eulogies at Sugar Ray Robinson's funeral.

"We were talking and I told Mike, who was about 20 (actually 37) years younger than I was: 'Mike, I played in Lincoln Terrace Park and I tell you what, it was tough,'" Davis recalled. "He said, 'What do you mean you played there?'

"I said, 'I played there every day, day and night, unless I went to practice baseball, basketball and football.' And I said, 'I owned that park, Mike.' He turned to Don King and said, 'This guy is an S.O.B. He's a tough S.O.B. If he can come out alive of that park, he must be a tough S.O.B.'"

To Davis, that must be the perfect compliment, and he constantly reinforces that persona in pro football's locker rooms, boardrooms, personnel rooms and courtrooms.

So why all the retrospection? Why now?

Is it just for the 80th birthday milestone, which he planned to celebrate with a small dinner party rather than a traditional Las Vegas jaunt? ("I felt this year, predicated on the economy and all, we would just whittle it down to a few friends for dinner and hold off, because we didn't want to flaunt it whenever everyone else is having trouble financially," said the man who has wildly overspent in recent years trying to upgrade the Raiders' roster.)

Is his health failing him as badly as it has seemed the past couple of years, with a quadriceps injury hampering his movements? Is he in life's two-minute drill? Who really knows? If you haven't heard, he is tough.

Love him or hate him, he played a vital role in pro football's lifeline. That includes spurring the American Football League's 1970 merger with the National Football League, a feat he apparently plans to detail in a book.

An in-depth profile of Davis is in the works at Comcast, so Thursday's show was simply an insightful tease. Davis started by recalling how his family moved to Brooklyn (from Brockton, Mass., at age 5) so his father ("an entrepreneur") could manufacture raincoats there.

"The memories are great," Davis recalled. "I lived there until I was about 16. My dad had a home in Long Beach, Long Island. We were moving from Brooklyn to Long Beach to Brooklyn to Long Beach."

Davis hoped to launch a basketball career at star-studded Erasmus High, but football interested him more by the time he got to Syracuse University. "I just understood there was more to it than just running the football," Davis recalled. "There was a passing game. I saw it. I believed it."

So he drew up pass plays on a blackboard, leading a teammate to ask if they could be used at the high school level. "I said, 'High school? You can run this in pro football.'"

Flash forward to Year 80, A.D. Can the Raiders' pass plays work once again? That is what an impatient and frustrated Raider Nation (including Davis) wants to know, for that is how our what-have-you-done-lately society works, especially for a franchise that Davis insists still has greatness in its future.

I don't know how much pride that video would instill in me if I was a raider fan, kc. It illustrated how Davis has always operated his organization in a unprofessional, classes manner and how many of his decisions are fueled by emotion and not intelligence or even common sense. And it points out how the Raiders as an organization and a fan base are whiners - yeah they caught a bad break by way of the immaculate reception, but tough shiit. And most people would have sympathized with the team and fans, over the tuck rule game in the 2002 playoffs, if the players, fans and mainly their childish owner didn't play the "poor me" card for the next seven years. And if Davis hadn't of lashed out against the league and officials through the media, maybe he would have preserved a little dignity and respect.

p4wn06124ff171 wrote:A BIG CELEBRATORY BIRTHDAY WISHING TO THE MAN WHO CREATED THE VERTICAL PASSING GAME AND ALL THE OTHER GREAT THINGS OF THE NFL

As apposed to what what other kinds of passing games? West coast maybe? nah, that didn't come around until Bill Walsh... Did offenses not throw the ball at all before Davis? Did he create the concept of the forward pass?

And what do you mean by, "...ALL THE OTHER GREAT THINGS OF THE NFL"? Just curious... I tried to think of some but couldn't. Maybe he did contribute to the evolution of the passing game but other than creating major pains in the asses of every commissioner and all of the other team owners in the time that he has been the Raider's owner. Or creating a horrible reputation for himself and his team I couldn't think of anything.

JREED23 wrote:I don't know how much pride that video would instill in me if I was a raider fan

That's cause your a niner fan... You don't know the meaning of pride. No one followed your sorry ass franchise until you won 5 SB's

JREED23 wrote:It illustrated how Davis has always operated his organization in a unprofessional, classes manner and how many of his decisions are fueled by emotion and not intelligence or even common sense.

Unprofessional? Dude... the Raiders Organization is the closest team run on the same business model as the army. We STICK UP FOR OUR TEAMMATES, We shoot down anyone who doesn't toe the company line (shannarat) we show snitches and big mouth the door (Kiffin) We keep our cards close to our chest and don't tell our companys secrets (like the military).

Yeah i don't disagree on making classless decisions JREED23 (Lane Kiffin and the Overhead Projector) and Al definately has made moves based on emotion as opposed to common sense (Art Shell redux) but like i said Al operates the team like Al's army and there's been plenty of people shown the door who don't wanna get with the program (adios DeAngelo and Candy Floss)

JREED23 wrote:And it points out how the Raiders as an organization and a fan base are whiners - yeah they caught a bad break by way of the immaculate reception, but tough shiit. And most people would have sympathized with the team and fans, over the tuck rule game in the 2002 playoffs, if the players, fans and mainly their childish owner didn't play the "poor me" card for the next seven years.

Yeah we may look like whiners but there's no other teams in prosport that have had referees affect the biggest games and littelest games in the raiders opponent favour. You can't tell me that if the refs had called the right decisions on A) Immaculate Reception & B) Tuck Rule that it wouldn't of been 2 extra trips to the superbowl.

Maybe it's just cause you follow the Niners who are a white collar team and are referees teachers pets where as the Raider Nation is TRUE GRIT BLUE COLLAR WORKERS who's team gets stereotyped for whatever reasons and the refs can't call a game <look im ****ing whining like a true Raider fan.. but you try and sit in front of your TV and get screw jobbed on 2 of the most controversial plays in Sports History>

JREED23 wrote:And if Davis hadn't of lashed out against the league and officials through the media, maybe he would have preserved a little dignity and respect.

Yes his war with Pete Rozelle was well publicized, but Al is a businessman and a competitor. If Pete Rozelle wants to fight then Al Davis will fight back (not gonna knock Al on that because it's a vandetta well before me and yours time when the league was the AFL & NFL)

JREED23 wrote:As apposed to what what other kinds of passing games? West coast maybe? nah, that didn't come around until Bill Walsh... Did offenses not throw the ball at all before Davis? Did he create the concept of the forward pass?

Just know your history pal. Al Davis had a young pup in his organization working under John Madden/Tom Flores (don't remember which coach) but that young pup was Bill Walsh.. History would of taken a different direction in terms of West Coast Offense if Bill Walsh hadn't been a O.G Raider. Walking into that organization you learn a lot of history quickly and the greatest mind in all of football can be found sitting in a luxury box or walking the sideline (when he was younger) in the L.A and OAKLAND Colleseum.

It's foolish of me not to answer the question about inventing the forward pass because we knew it was happening years before Al was alive. But football before Al Davis time was always fundamental run with the rock. Basically Mr Davis invented the vertical passing game which spread the length of the field and had opposing secondaries scrambling. the Vertical passing Game back in the 60's and 70's probably has something to do with the raiders being one of the most winningest franchises in all of sports and it was years before all the NFL teams caught onto Al Davis concept of being able to score points on the deep ball.

JREED23 wrote:And what do you mean by, "...ALL THE OTHER GREAT THINGS OF THE NFL"? Just curious... I tried to think of some but couldn't.

Are you serious? If you were to walk into a interview with Al Davis, the man will listen to what you say and make his decision with all pre-conceived ideas thrown out the door.

It took a real man with hair on his balls (unlike York would ever have had) to give the reigns of an organization over to a Hispanic in Tom Flores or a African American in Art Shell.

& the preconceived idea of coaches need to be old and wise, well John Madden, Mike Shannahan, Jon Gruden and Lane Kiffin all got the job based on enthusiasm and what they had learned so far as opposed to someone who gets a job cause they have a longer resume.

People laughed at Al when he made those moves, but most of the time he got to laugh at them back. John Madden, Jon Gruden and Tom Flores all personally silenced Al critics.

JREED23 wrote: Maybe he did contribute to the evolution of the passing game but other than creating major pains in the asses of every commissioner and all of the other team owners in the time that he has been the Raider's owner.

It was only 1 League Commissioner in Pete Rozelle who he feuded with. Roger Goodell has had no trouble with Al Davis (barring the Lane Kiffin Fiasco) and as it turned out Lane Kiffin is going on National TV at Tennessee and proving why he got fired from the Raiders gig.

As for being a pain in the ass to other team owners.. i think it all boiled down that they didn't want the Raiders moving to the L.A. But Al is entitled to pack his bags and holiday where he wants. L.A is a big enough town for 2 teams (just like N.Y and the BAY is)

I think you'll find that Al Davis is respected amongst some of the greatest owners in the league.. He has very close relationships with the Rooneys and Jerry Jones and even though he runs his organization a unorthodox way... i bet those other owners respect that he does it his own way.

JREED23 wrote:creating a horrible reputation for himself and his team I couldn't think of anything.

Al doesn't care about his reputation. he does anything and everything in the pursuit to win. the media can blast him but at the end of the day every player who's played for him knows he looks after his team (sure Marcus Allen didn't get paid) but Al puts the team 1st before any singleman.

Look JREED23, i can argue all day with Al Davis Haters but it's irks me when a Niner fan wants to bag out on the dude just because they hate the raiders... there people out there who love the Raiders but hate Al Davis, But usually there's a lot of Niners fans who jump on a bandwagon know there's some hate brewing on the surface and stick knives in Al back with only seeing the tip of the iceberg. I'd invite you to go to a Raiders game one time and visit the tailgates and you can listen to the Nation talk about the man. (i don't suggest you wear that Alex Smith jersey) There's more and more people who hate him recently cause the teams record over the last 6 years but even the haters wont question what his done for the game. Vince Lombardi died and they got a trophy named after him. I guess when Al goes the league will have something real special plan to remember his legacy.

JREED23 wrote:I don't know how much pride that video would instill in me if I was a raider fan, kc. It illustrated how Davis has always operated his organization in a unprofessional, classes manner and how many of his decisions are fueled by emotion and not intelligence or even common sense. And it points out how the Raiders as an organization and a fan base are whiners - yeah they caught a bad break by way of the immaculate reception, but tough shiit. And most people would have sympathized with the team and fans, over the tuck rule game in the 2002 playoffs, if the players, fans and mainly their childish owner didn't play the "poor me" card for the next seven years. And if Davis hadn't of lashed out against the league and officials through the media, maybe he would have preserved a little dignity and respect.

p4wn06124ff171 wrote:A BIG CELEBRATORY BIRTHDAY WISHING TO THE MAN WHO CREATED THE VERTICAL PASSING GAME AND ALL THE OTHER GREAT THINGS OF THE NFL

As apposed to what what other kinds of passing games? West coast maybe? nah, that didn't come around until Bill Walsh... Did offenses not throw the ball at all before Davis? Did he create the concept of the forward pass?

And what do you mean by, "...ALL THE OTHER GREAT THINGS OF THE NFL"? Just curious... I tried to think of some but couldn't. Maybe he did contribute to the evolution of the passing game but other than creating major pains in the asses of every commissioner and all of the other team owners in the time that he has been the Raider's owner. Or creating a horrible reputation for himself and his team I couldn't think of anything.

Al Davis = Joke

i thought that video was bad azz...

Wish List

*New Owner and Management =D> *Trade Monta*Trade Maggette =D> *Tank the season, get the top pick and draft Harrison Barnes to be continued...

p4wn06124ff171 wrote:That's cause your a niner fan... You don't know the meaning of pride. No one followed your sorry ass franchise until you won 5 SB's

This paragraph, just like the rest of your post, is subjective, ignorant, unfounded and perpetuated by generalities and lies.

p4wn06124ff171 wrote:Unprofessional? Dude... the Raiders Organization is the closest team run on the same business model as the army. We STICK UP FOR OUR TEAMMATES, We shoot down anyone who doesn't toe the company line (shannarat) we show snitches and big mouth the door (Kiffin) We keep our cards close to our chest and don't tell our companys secrets (like the military).

Going to be hard pressed to find more cliche laden statements then that.

p4wn06124ff171 wrote:Yeah i don't disagree on making classless decisions JREED23 (Lane Kiffin and the Overhead Projector) and Al definately has made moves based on emotion as opposed to common sense (Art Shell redux) but like i said Al operates the team like Al's army and there's been plenty of people shown the door who don't wanna get with the program (adios DeAngelo and Candy Floss)

There's some actual substance in here, I'm always impressed when you allow some unbiased and reasonable content shine through your unwavering, blind, and close-minded devotion to your team.

p4wn06124ff171 wrote:Yeah we may look like whiners but there's no other teams in prosport that have had referees affect the biggest games and littelest games in the raiders opponent favour. You can't tell me that if the refs had called the right decisions on A) Immaculate Reception & B) Tuck Rule that it wouldn't of been 2 extra trips to the superbowl.

I didn't realize that the Raiders played in the National Basketball League... You wanna talk about teams in "pro[ ]sports" getting screwed by refs... And you've just done exactly what I figured you would here... PROVED MY POINT.

p4wn06124ff171 wrote:Maybe it's just cause you follow the Niners who are a white collar team and are referees teachers pets where as the Raider Nation is TRUE GRIT BLUE COLLAR WORKERS who's team gets stereotyped for whatever reasons and the refs can't call a game <look im ****ing whining like a true Raider fan.. but you try and sit in front of your TV and get screw jobbed on 2 of the most controversial plays in Sports History>

LMAO, what makes a team white collar? A team that plays bad D, doesn't run the ball, and passes? cough...raiders...cough... What makes a team blue collar? Good D, run first, play for field possession? cough...9ers...cough... I'm not trying say you don't have the right to whine about the tuck rule, but common, you weren't even born yet when the immaculate reception took place back in '72!

p4wn06124ff171 wrote:Just know your history pal. Al Davis had a young pup in his organization working under John Madden/Tom Flores (don't remember which coach) but that young pup was Bill Walsh.. History would of taken a different direction in terms of West Coast Offense if Bill Walsh hadn't been a O.G Raider.

You got me there, I actually didn't know that, but he was there for less than two years (not really long enough to be considered an O.G.). I also learned that it wasn't Madden or Flores it was actually Sid Gillman - The real innovator of the vertical pass. Yup another man who's limelight, credit and glory was pilfered by Davis.

p4wn06124ff171 wrote:Walking into that organization you learn a lot of history quickly and the greatest mind in all of football can be found sitting in a luxury box or walking the sideline (when he was younger) in the L.A and OAKLAND Colleseum.

This statement is just ridiculous not even you seriously believe he is the greatest mind in anything, not even the most uneducated, meth-addicted, trailer park trash, felon of a Raider fan would make this claim.

p4wn06124ff171 wrote:It's foolish of me not to answer the question about inventing the forward pass because we knew it was happening years before Al was alive. But football before Al Davis time was always fundamental run with the rock. Basically Mr Davis invented the vertical passing game which spread the length of the field and had opposing secondaries scrambling. the Vertical passing Game back in the 60's and 70's probably has something to do with the raiders being one of the most winningest franchises in all of sports and it was years before all the NFL teams caught onto Al Davis concept of being able to score points on the deep ball.

Another comment that is drastically exaggerated, and filled with more Raider lies. Raiders are not the "winningest" team in "all of sports" or pro sports or even in the NFL for that matter! That is just another lie Davis has sold his nation of impressionable and gullible fans. I'm not going to get into the numbers or dig up sources right now, if you really want, I will. I'd just take my word for it when I make claims like this Porno, because I do research things like this...

p4wn06124ff171 wrote:Are you serious? If you were to walk into a interview with Al Davis, the man will listen to what you say and make his decision with all pre-conceived ideas thrown out the door.

It took a real man with hair on his balls (unlike York would ever have had) to give the reigns of an organization over to a Hispanic in Tom Flores or a African American in Art Shell.

You speak as if you know him... I assume you don't so this is just sheer speculation...

p4wn06124ff171 wrote:& the preconceived idea of coaches need to be old and wise, well John Madden, Mike Shannahan, Jon Gruden and Lane Kiffin all got the job based on enthusiasm and what they had learned so far as opposed to someone who gets a job cause they have a longer resume.

People laughed at Al when he made those moves, but most of the time he got to laugh at them back. John Madden, Jon Gruden and Tom Flores all personally silenced Al critics.

And Shannahan and Gruden got the last laugh at Al. It's despicable how he has treated some of the coaches you've mentioned and countless others that were once involved with the Raiders.

p4wn06124ff171 wrote:It was only 1 League Commissioner in Pete Rozelle who he feuded with. Roger Goodell has had no trouble with Al Davis (barring the Lane Kiffin Fiasco) and as it turned out Lane Kiffin is going on National TV at Tennessee and proving why he got fired from the Raiders gig.

We both know that Al has sewed the NFL multiple times, and feuded with other commissioners, I'm growing tired of doing research and proving you wrong... So here:

Davis has long been considered one of the most controversial owners in the NFL and has been involved in multiple lawsuits involving Los Angeles, Oakland, Irwindale and the NFL. In 1980 he attempted to move the Raiders to Los Angeles but was blocked by a court injunction. In response Davis filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL. In June 1982 a federal district court ruled in Davis' favor and the team officially relocated to Los Angeles for the 1982 NFL season. When the upstart United States Football League filed its antitrust suit in 1986, Davis was the only NFL owner who sided with the USFL.

In 1995 Davis moved the team back to Oakland. Davis then sued the NFL, claiming the league sabotaged the team's effort to build a stadium at Hollywood Park in Inglewood by not doing enough to help the team move from the antiquated Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to a new stadium complete with luxury suites. The NFL won a 9–3 verdict in 2001, but Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Richard Hubbell ordered a new trial amid accusations that one juror was biased against the team and Davis, and that another juror committed misconduct. A state appeals court later overturned that decision. The case was thrown out July 2, 2007 when the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the verdict against the Raiders stood. This was the last of several lawsuits the Raiders had outstanding against the league and its stadium landlords.[1]

In 2007 Davis and Pete Rozelle and the NFL were voted the number 1 greatest feud in NFL history on the NFL Network's Top Ten Feuds as they would go on to more hostility within each other for almost half a century.

p4wn06124ff171 wrote:As for being a pain in the ass to other team owners.. i think it all boiled down that they didn't want the Raiders moving to the L.A. But Al is entitled to pack his bags and holiday where he wants. L.A is a big enough town for 2 teams (just like N.Y and the BAY is)

I think you'll find that Al Davis is respected amongst some of the greatest owners in the league.. He has very close relationships with the Rooneys and Jerry Jones and even though he runs his organization a unorthodox way... i bet those other owners respect that he does it his own way.

Phrases like “I think” and “I bet”, to me mean:

“Don’t listen to anything I say or write after this point because it’s speculation and not based on fact. It’s opinion and worse than that a Raider fan’s opinion – and since when did they count? They aren’t even allowed to vote! Oh wait, that’s convicted felons… Oh yeah! Same thing!”

p4wn06124ff171 wrote:Al doesn't care about his reputation. he does anything and everything in the pursuit to win. the media can blast him but at the end of the day every player who's played for him knows he looks after his team (sure Marcus Allen didn't get paid) but Al puts the team 1st before any singleman.

Again I didn’t realize that you and Mr. Davis are so close! Say hi to him for me, next time you give him a kiss good night.

p4wn06124ff171 wrote:Look JREED23, i can argue all day with Al Davis Haters but it's irks me when a Niner fan wants to bag out on the dude just because they hate the raiders... there people out there who love the Raiders but hate Al Davis, But usually there's a lot of Niners fans who jump on a bandwagon know there's some hate brewing on the surface and stick knives in Al back with only seeing the tip of the iceberg. I'd invite you to go to a Raiders game one time and visit the tailgates and you can listen to the Nation talk about the man. (i don't suggest you wear that Alex Smith jersey) There's more and more people who hate him recently cause the teams record over the last 6 years but even the haters wont question what his done for the game. Vince Lombardi died and they got a trophy named after him. I guess when Al goes the league will have something real special plan to remember his legacy.

I have been to three Raider’s games and worn 9er gear every time - And it’s a Patrick Willis Jersey hanging in my closet not Alex Smith – sure I heard some **** talk, but it’s all been jovial, especially since my brothers were easily the two biggest guys in our section. But your right, I am just a Davis hater, and because of him I’m a Raider hater and a Raider fan hater. But I do enjoy these debates we share because you are a knowledgeable Raider fan (oxymoron, lol) and those are hard to find.